This Local Tree Farm is Letting Customers Cut Their Own Tree

Balsam Ridge Christmas Tree Farm’s first ‘cut-your-own’ Christmas trees are ready to be chosen in Clintondale.

For the last decade, Gene and Mary Jean Knudsen and their family have grown Christmas trees on Balsam Ridge Christmas Tree Farm in Clintondale. This holiday, they’re handing over the saw as they officially start their first “cut-your-own-tree” season.

Shoppers should allow plenty of time to choose: the farm has more than a thousand trees ready to be cut.

“We have five different varieties,” Gene says. “The most popular is Fraser Fir, because it has very good color, scent, and form, and is a dense, conical tree. They retain their needles very well.”

They also carry Balsam, Canaan, and concolor firs, Colorado blue spruce, and a new variety from South Korea.

When you cut your own, the farm will provide the bow saw. “Select a tree that’s right for you — in terms of its size — and cut it down, or we can do it for you at no charge,” says Gene Knudsen.

Balsam Ridge workers will “square” the base (if it wasn’t cut straight), trim the bottom branches, shake any loose needles off and bind the tree. Balsam Ridge’s cut-your-own season begins the day after Thanksgiving, from 9 a.m. to dusk, and runs every Saturday and Sunday until sold out, subject to weather. Complimentary coffee, hot cocoa, and candy canes, too!